Sri Lanka - Part 4

Part 4 is dedicated to Habarana, our hotel (Cinnamon Lodge) and the list of Wildlife that we have recorded:

So what can I say about the Hotel... Fantastic, the grounds were amazing, lakes, trees, gardens, butterfly walks all teaming with wildlife. As I said in part 1 we amassed 56 bird species in the grounds, plus all manner of other things:

Here are some of the photo highlights:

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Ceylon Gray Hornbill

Tickell's Blue-flycatcher

Ruddy Mongoose

Asian Open-bill

Tawny-bellied Babbler

Intermediate Egret

Red-vented Bulbul

Nutmeg Mannikin

Black-backed Robin (Indian Robin)

Water Monitor

Jerdon's Leafbird (Blue Winged Leafbird)

Garden Lizard

Gray Langur Monkey

Purple Heron

Purple Heron

Gray-headed Fish Eagle

Red-vented Bulbul

White-browed Fantail

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Stork-billed Kingfisher

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

White-throated Kingfisher

Pompadour Green Pigeon

Red-crested Barbet

Common Kingfisher

Yellow-Billed Babbler

White-browed Bulbul

Dark-fronted Babbler

Blach-hooded Oriole

White-breasted Waterhen

Malabar Pied Hornbill

Brahminy Kite

Purple-rumped Sunbird

Oriental White-eye

Brown-capped Woodpecker

Crested Serpent Eagle

White-throated Kingfisher

Palm Squirrel

Land Monitor

And our full bird list for the holiday:
Alpine Swift  (Apus melba)
Ashy Prinia  (Prinia socialis)
Asian Openbill  (Anastomus oscitans)
Asian Palm-Swift  (Cypsiurus balasiensis)
Asian Paradise-Flycatcher  (Terpsiphone paradisi)
Black-crested Bulbul  (Pycnonotus melanicterus)
Black-headed Ibis  (Threskiornis melanocephalus)
Black-hooded Oriole  (Oriolus xanthornus)
Black-winged Stilt  (Himantopus himantopus)
Blue-tailed Bee-eater  (Merops philippinus)
Blue-winged Leafbird  (Chloropsis cochinchinensis)
Brahminy Kite  (Haliastur indus)
Brown-backed Needletail  (Hirundapus giganteus)
Brown-capped Woodpecker  (Dendrocopos moluccensis)
Brown-headed Barbet  (Megalaima zeylanica)
Cattle Egret  (Bubulcus ibis)
Ceylon Gray Hornbill  (Ocyceros gingalensis)
Ceylon Junglefowl  (Gallus lafayetii)
Changeable Hawk-Eagle  (Nisaetus cirrhatus)
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater  (Merops leschenaulti)
Common Iora  (Aegithina tiphia)
Common Myna  (Acridotheres tristis)
Common Sandpiper  (Actitis hypoleucos)
Common Tailorbird  (Orthotomus sutorius)
Common Woodshrike  (Tephrodornis pondicerianus)
Crested Serpent-Eagle  (Spilornis cheela)
Crimson-fronted Barbet  (Megalaima rubricapillus)
Dark-fronted Babbler  (Rhopocichla atriceps)
Darter  (Anhinga melanogaster)
Gray-breasted Prinia  (Prinia hodgsonii)
Gray-headed Fish-Eagle  (Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus)
Great Tit  (Parus major)
Great White Egret  (Ardea alba)
Greater Coucal  (Centropus sinensis)
Greater Flameback  (Chrysocolaptes lucidus)
Green Bee-eater  (Merops orientalis)
Greenshank  (Tringa nebularia)
Grey Heron  (Ardea cinerea)
House Crow  (Corvus splendens)
Indian Peafowl  (Pavo cristatus)
Indian Pond-Heron  (Ardeola grayii)
Indian Robin  (Saxicoloides fulicatus)
Indian Roller  (Coracias benghalensis)
Intermediate Egret  (Mesophoyx intermedia)
Jerdon's Bushlark  (Mirafra affinis)
Kentish Plover  (Charadrius alexandrinus)
Kingfisher  (Alcedo atthis)
Large-billed Crow  (Corvus macrorhynchos)
Lesser Adjutant  (Leptoptilos javanicus)
Little Cormorant  (Phalacrocorax niger)
Little Egret  (Egretta garzetta)
Little Ringed Plover  (Charadrius dubius)
Long-billed Sunbird  (Cinnyris lotenius)
Malabar Pied-Hornbill  (Anthracoceros coronatus)
Marsh Sandpiper  (Tringa stagnatilis)
Nutmeg Mannikin  (Lonchura punctulata)
Oriental Magpie-Robin  (Copsychus saularis)
Oriental Pipit  (Anthus rufulus)
Oriental White-eye  (Zosterops palpebrosus)
Pale-billed Flowerpecker  (Dicaeum erythrorhynchos)
Peregrine Falcon (peregrinator)  (Falco peregrinus peregrinator)
Pied Wagtail  (Motacilla alba)
Plain Prinia  (Prinia inornata)
Pompadour Green-Pigeon  (Treron pompadora)
Purple Heron  (Ardea purpurea)
Purple Sunbird  (Cinnyris asiaticus)
Purple-rumped Sunbird  (Leptocoma zeylonica)
Red-vented Bulbul  (Pycnonotus cafer)
Red-wattled Lapwing  (Vanellus indicus)
Ring-necked Parakeet  (Psittacula krameri)
Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon  (Columba livia)
Shikra  (Accipiter badius)
Small Minivet  (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus)
Spotted Dove  (Streptopelia chinensis)
Stone-curlew  (Burhinus oedicnemus)
Stork-billed Kingfisher  (Pelargopsis capensis)
Swallow  (Hirundo rustica)
Tawny-bellied Babbler  (Dumetia hyperythra)
Tickell's Blue-Flycatcher  (Cyornis tickelliae)
Whiskered Tern  (Chlidonias hybrida)
White Stork  (Ciconia ciconia)
White-bellied Drongo  (Dicrurus caerulescens)
White-bellied Sea-Eagle  (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
White-breasted Waterhen  (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
White-browed Bulbul  (Pycnonotus luteolus)
White-browed Fantail  (Rhipidura aureola)
White-throated Kingfisher  (Halcyon smyrnensis)
Woolly-necked Stork  (Ciconia episcopus)
Yellow-billed Babbler  (Turdoides affinis)
Yellow-browed Bulbul  (Iole indica)

Sri Lanka - Part 3

So on to day 7 and a bit of a treat, an Elephant backed Safari (well walk..)

So it was up before breakfast to go off to meet or Elephant, if my memory serves me, her name was Rani.

Just starting out

Invited to drive! Now wheres the brake!

We haven't crashed yet.
And say Hi to our new friends Wendy & Tim

It was a most enjoyable experience, by the way Rani seems to run on Bananas! She got through at least 20 that we fed her whilst on board.

From Elephant back, we saw Open Bill, Gray Heron, Black-headed Ibis, our first Purple Heron of the trip, Bee-eaters, Pipits, Cattle Egret,  Land Monitor, Torque Macaque, numerous Lizards and Red Wattled Lapwing

This should be a lake, not a puddle!

Land Monitor

Cattle Egret

Purple Heron

The rest of day 7 was at Leisure, by the pool...
Except for an organised Bird Watching walk around the grounds in the late afternoon, I will cover that in part 4.

Day 8, on the road again to Sigiriya Rock Fortress, this is it and we climbed to the top!

Mot much time for Birding on this trip and no wildlife photos, We did see the Little Cormorant, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Red Vented Bulbul and 2 new species for the holiday, a Black Crested Bulbul and a Shaheen Falcon. The Shaheen (Pergrinus Peregrinator ) is actually a peregrine sub-species so doesn't count as a new bird. I didn't get a photo, as it flew past whilst we were negotiating some very narrow steep

steps up the side of the rock. On the way back down we saw the 3rd and final species of Monkey that lives on the Island, the Purple Faced Leaf Monkey, so that was the hat-trick!

Day 9, off we go again this time to the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.

Lots of ruins and temples to see on this trip but, also produced a couple of new birds, the Indian Pond Heron and the Common Tailorbird, sadly no photo of the Tailorbird as it was flitting in a hedge, wouldn't come out, and never stayed still long enough to focus through the branches. I did get a couple of the Pond Heron though:

So part 3 was quite short, part 4 is what was around the hotel